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Buying a new Smartphone: What do you guys think about buying a "Certified Refurbished" phone?

The only thing I ever bought that wasn't bought new was 25 years ago, (geez, that's hard to believe,) was an open box CRT monitor by HP, with no issues. But then again, I only had it for 3 or 4 years, then I upgraded to my 1st LCD monitor.

Anyway, I was wondering what opinions you had, on buying a "Certified Refurbished" smartphone. From a well known online retail store.

Have you guys ever bought a "C.R." smartphone; How'd it go?

Thanks in advance,
Duggo
 
I think it’s probably a good deal. I have purchased certified refurbished receivers, a speaker bar, and other electronics with no problems at all.
 
I have my phone insured against damage. Had to use the coverage a few years ago. Was sent a refurbished pone as a replacement. It was as good as new.
 
Depends on what you’re buying and where from. I’ve had no problems with refurbished Apple products bought from Apple. I would avoid refurbished phones from third parties such as Groupon, etc.
 
I've bought almost exclusively refurb electronics for 10 years. Make sure you're buying from a place with a decent return policy and a good reputation. 80% of the products I've bought are indistinguishable from new, except for the packaging. I've received only one refurb device that was returned, and that was because it was supposed to be an unlocked phone and they sent me a carrier locked phone.
 
I don't trust certified refurbs off places like eBay. From a reputable source they are fine. I also check Amazon warehouse if they have a used-like new.
 
Pretty much in agreement with everyone else. Refurbished can be great deals from reputable sources. I also consider what the warranty is if there is one. For a pricey item I'd be okay with spending a little more for the peace of mind if there's a defect.
 
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Commander Quan

Commander Yellow Pantyhose
Not cell phone specific but...A few years ago I bought a refurbished Galaxy Tab2 10" tablet from Tiger Direct That is an absolute turd. It didn't work right from they day we bought it. Only rooting it and disabling everything but what was absolutely necessary made it somewhat usable.

On the the other hand I have bought several electronics from the Amazon Warehouse store for significant savings that have been absolutely perfect.
 
Where I live (and I think in many places) retailers have to offer a two week return policy on electronics - i.e. the consumer can return it for a full refund.

I purchased a refurbed cell phone from my carrier a few years back. It was perfectly fine. Chances were that someone else bought it, changed his or her mind, and returned it for a different model. I got it for half of the normal price. I'd do it again if they had a model I wanted and it was available this way.

I bought a refurbished printer from Amazon. It was the same type of thing. When I received it, it looked like the box had never been opened. When I opened it up it had all the plastic shields/protection bits that you have to pull off before use. I ran the printer test. The print count showed me I was the first user. I got the printer for a fraction of the full cost.

In my experience, the term "refurbished" isn't a good description of the condition of these electronics. Returned with no use or light use would be better. Consumer laws simply prevent returns from being sold as new, even if the box was never opened, so they are often called refurbs. Sometimes people just have buyer's remorse and return an item. Other times they just realize they should have bought a different model. There is likely nothing wrong with the particular item.
 
Never had a problem when bought from reputable providers, or from the phone carrier store. I've also bought from cheap provider reseller from the Walmart site & had problems with it. They balked at taking it back but they finally did & I got a full refund.
 
The only thing I would worry about would be battery life on a previously used phone.

If you are getting it from the manufacturer this should not be an issue.

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I think most refurbs are okay. A few years ago I bought a refurbished smartphone, it did not work out of the box but only required a device reset. It looked like it had some factory test software still loaded, as if to insure the hardware was functional before reselling a phone that someone decided to return.
 
If you buy an Apple refurb, you won't be able to tell the difference between that and a new one. As far as other brands are concerned, refurbished units refurbed by the manufacturer are usually OK, but there are a lot of independents out there doing refurbs. The quality of their product varies dramatically.
 
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